1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a rear wheel steering unit for an automotive vehicle. More particularly, the invention is directed to an improvement on a connecting arrangement for connecting between an output shaft of a rear wheel steering gear train and a steering rod for steering rear wheels.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is current practice to incorporate a four-wheel steering (4WS) system into automotive vehicles for improving cornering stability.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,018, issued on Jan. 7, 1992, assigned to the same assignee of this application, discloses a conventional electrically-operated rear wheel steering unit. This steering unit includes an electric motor-operated gear train which has an output shaft operable to rotate eccentrically with respect to an input shaft, which eccentric movement, in turn, causes a steering rod to be displaced laterally for steering rear wheels.
The above prior art rear wheel steering system, however, encounters a drawback in that the output shaft is press-fitted into a bore formed in the steering rod for establishing tight engagement therebetween with high accuracy, therefore, it is necessary to form a flanged portion on the output shaft for facilitating the press-fitting operation. This results in machining costs as well as assembling processes being increased.